ThisblogwasoriginallypublishedinKnowlarityBlog

Theywereeverywhere.Ingroupsofallsizes,claimingeverycornerofthemeetingroomattheMicrosoft R&DCentreinBangalore.Somehadspilledoutintotheadjacentcafeteria,eithertypingawayincomplete oblivion,orhunchedindeepconversation.Afewothersstaredintonothing,fingerspoisedforactiononthe keyboards.Acoupleofthemsatalonelookingsodesolatethatitmadeyouwanttorushtocomfort:Dont worry,yourcodewillbejustfine.Orwhateverworkedforthem.Thesewerehackers,yousee.Andwewere ataHackathon. KnowlaritywasoneofthesponsorsatthistwodayAndroidHackathonorganisedbyVenturesity.Itwas called,Getoutthevote,Getoutthevoice.TheparticipantshadtocreateanAndroidapplicationintune withthemoodofthenationthatwasgoingtothepolls.Anappthatwouldempowerthepeopleandreinforce democracy. Now,letsjuststartbysayingifyouveneverbeentoahackathon,youvemissedsomething.Theenergyin theroomwaselectric.Ifyouconcentratedhardenough,youcouldprobablyhearahum. Everyonewasheretobuildsomethinguniquechangetheworld,oneappatatime.Ideaswereexchanged, soldandboughtteammemberswererecruitedindividualtaskswereassigned.Teamshad24hoursto presenttheapp,thatwouldbejudgedontheeasewithwhichitcouldacquireusers,robustnessofthe conceptandhowpopularitwaswithotherparticipants.

WefoundSrinivasanSubramanian(knowntoallasVasan),ChiefTechnologyOfficer,AccelIndia,amonga groupoffivesittinginthecafeteria,alreadyatit.GroupleaderKarthikeyan,fromBigOTechnologies,wasa serialhackathoner,weheard,withatleast10suchhackfestsunderhisbelt.Butthisismyfirst hackathon,declaredVasan,withachildlikeenthusiasmthatmadeyouwanttocheerforhim.Theother membersPrasanna,SmritiandAnkitwerehardatwork.

Afterduepromisesofdiscretion(althoughKarthikeyanlookedunconvinced),Vasandecidedtorevealtheir idea.Abigreasonpeopledontvoteisbecausetheydontwanttostandalldayinaneverendingqueue. Throughcrowdsourcing,theirappwouldproviderealtimeinformationonthenumberofpeoplewaitingatthe booth,anddirectionstogetthere.Weleftthemtoit. RajandDishantsatinconspicuouslyinacorner.TheywerepartofateamofyounggunsfromtheVellore InstituteofTechnology(VIT)whowerebuildingaforumforvotersandpoliticianstoaddresseachotherwith theirconcernsandcomments.Theappwouldassessthesimilaritybetweentwocommentsandprompt userstoLikeotherrelevantposts,clubbingtogethersimilarissues.Basedontheirpopularity,theposts wouldbepassedonforactiontopoliticiansorpartieswhowerepartoftheforum. Now,heresanotherreasonitsgoodtoswingbyatahackathonatleastonce.Watchingtheseyoungsters, barelyoutoftheirteens,talkliketheyvegotmultiplePhDs,takesyoubacktoyourownstellar accomplishmentsfromthecollegedays.Yourealisetheonlyapplicationyouevermadeovertherewaswith apenandapaper,andafakesignatureofyourlocalguardian(aworkofart,nevertheless).More importantly,itworkedflawlesslytokeepyououtofclass.Howdifferentcouldthesebe?Duh.

Rajwasstillspeaking.Wequicklyrealignedfacialexpression,gavethemourbestandscuttledoff.VIThad threesolidteamsatthehackathon.Oneofthemwonthesecondprize. ThesevenmemberTeamILoveBangalorewasworkingonasimilarproject.Afewofthemembershad workedwithpoliticalpartiesbeforeandfeltthattheneedofthehourwasatwowaycommunicationplatform betweenvotersandMLAs.Theforumgavepoliticiansachancetomarketthemselvestothepeopleby talkingabouttheworktheyddoneorplannedtodo.Theappuserswouldhaveaccesstoalltheinformation abouttheleadersintheirrespectiveconstituencies,andcouldtrackprogressorholdthemaccountablefor unmetpromises. ThewinneratthishackathonwasateamcalledTheIndifferent.Theirapp,MoodNation,scavengedthrough Twitterfeedsandranasentimentanalysistodeterminewhichpoliticalpartyorpoliticianhadearnedthe votersfavour.Simplyput,ittrackedtheTwitteratispoliticalstandandgavearoughideaofwhichwaythe electionsmightgo.Muchlikeopinionpolls. TheVITteamthatbaggedthesecondprizewascalledTheInnovators.TheirVoiceUrVoteappallowed voterstocheckinonFacebookoncetheyhadexercisedtheirfranchise.Withoutnecessarilyrevealing whomtheyhadvotedfor,theappwouldcollatedataonwhichpartyorcandidategotmaximumvotesand threwupagraphrevealingvotersentiment.Italsoshowedwhichofyourfriendshadvotedandallowedyou topoketheoneswhodidnt. KarthikeyanandVasansteamcameinthird. Itwasimpossiblenottobeinfluencedbythecollectiveoptimismofthehackers.Ifabunchofyoung,brilliant mindscouldmakeanideahappenin24hours,perhapsthefuturewasntasbadaswethought.Maybe technologycouldfixwhatbureaucratscouldnt.Ifwehadcorrupt,indifferentleaders,wealsohaddriven youngsters,barelyoutofcollege,whohadthetoolsandtheknowhowtostemtherotinthesystem. Butwhydoweneedtechnologytogetoffourbacksidesandvote,youask.ItswhatPGBhat,aretired navalofficer,softwareprofessional,educationistandsocialworker,saidduringatalkattheevent.Thereare waytoomanyglitchesintheelectoralprocesstoday.Mobilisinganelectorateof81.45crorerequiresmore thanjustrawmanpower.Itneedsawelloiledmachinerythatissmartenoughtocatchandcorrecterrors beforetheynullifyvaluablevotes.Illegaldeletions,duplicateentries,jumbleddataandincorrectvoter informationplaguethesystem Theseareusuallysmallerrorsthathavehugerepercussions,butnothingagoodsoftwarecantfix.Read Bhatsobservationshere,tounderstandthemagnitudeofthisissue. VenturesityshackathonculminatedinnineuniqueAndroidapps,oneofwhichisalreadyavailablefor downloadonGooglePlayStore.Checkitouthere.

VoteNowApponGooglePlaystore